I am delighted to congratulate Ambassador Ertharin Cousin on her appointment by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Food and Agriculture Organization Director General Jose Graziano da Silva to serve as the next Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

For over 50 years, the World Food Programme has played a vital role in reducing global hunger, poverty and undernutrition worldwide, providing assistance to millions of men, women, and children in desperate need.

It has been an honor to support Ambassador Cousin’s work as U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome, where she has been central to designing and implementing our country’s food security policies. I am confident that she will continue to be a powerful voice in the global fight against hunger and lend her energy, optimism and experience to the World Food Programme.